Chapter III, Article 18 · Regulation (EU) 2026/2280

Contents

Article 18Obligation to cooperate#

1.Third-country nationals shall comply with the obligation to leave the territory of the Member States and they shall have the obligation to cooperate with the competent authorities of the Member States at all stages of the return procedure.

2.Third-country nationals shall provide competent authorities with information on any changes in his or her individual situation relevant for the purpose of this Regulation, without undue delay.

3.Without prejudice to the obligation to leave the territory of the Member States, third-country nationals shall:

(a)remain available to the competent authorities on the territory of the Member State competent for the return procedure of which the third-country nationals are the subject, not abscond, including to another Member State, and present themselves for the departure of the transportation for return as determined by the competent authority;

(b)not physically or verbally obstruct the return;

(c)provide without undue delay, all information and physical and digital documents and documentation, including copies and electronic records thereof, relevant for establishing or verifying identity or nationality or otherwise relevant within the return procedure that they possess or are reasonably presumed to be able to obtain, in particular by providing the competent authorities with an identity or travel document or cooperating on obtaining an identity or travel document;

(d)not destroy, withhold or otherwise dispose of information, documents and documentation, referred to in point (c), use aliases with fraudulent intent, provide other false information in an oral or written form, or otherwise mislead the authorities or fraudulently oppose the return procedure;

(e)provide an explanation in the event that they are not in possession of an identity or travel document;

(f)provide information on the third countries transited, the travel routes used, or other third countries with which they may have other connections that might facilitate return;

(g)provide biometric data as defined in Union and national law, including Article 2(1), point (s), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1358 of the European Parliament and of the Council^note;

(h)comply with travel requirements of carriers and entry requirements of third-country authorities, including health requirements, when such requirements are generally imposed on international travellers;

(i)provide, when requested by the competent authorities precise contact details, including current place of residence, address, telephone number where they may be reached and, where available, an electronic mail address;

(j)provide, without undue delay, information on any changes to the contact details referred to in point (i);

(k)comply with any measure imposed under Article 20(1) and Article 23(1), throughout the return procedure;

(l)provide all required information and statements in the context of requests lodged with the competent authorities of relevant third countries for the purpose of obtaining travel documents and cooperate with these authorities of third countries, as necessary;

(m)appear in person or by means of videoconference, as required by the competent authorities, before the competent national or third-country authorities at the location indicated by such authorities for the purpose of acquiring travel documents and establishing their identity or nationality;

(n)where required by competent authorities, participate in return and reintegration counselling;

(o)comply with other relevant additional measures in relation to return under national law.

Obligations imposed upon the third-country national under this Article shall be without prejudice to obligations and measures not related to return provided for under national law.

4.The information, documents and documentation or, where not available, copies and electronic records thereof, referred to in paragraph 3, point (c), shall include in particular third-country nationals’ statements and any documentation in their possession regarding:

(a)their name, date and place of birth, gender and nationality or nationalities or the fact that they are stateless;

(b)their family members and other personal details of the third-country national if relevant for carrying out the return procedure or for the determination of the country of return;

(c)the type, number, period of validity and issuing country of any identity or travel document of the third-country nationals and other documents provided by them which the competent authority deems relevant for the purposes of identifying them, for carrying out the return procedure and for the determination of the country of return;

(d)any residence permits or other authorisation offering the third-country nationals a right to stay issued by another Member State or by a third country;

(e)any return decision, decision ordering removal, or entry ban issued by another Member State;

(f)country or countries and place or places of previous residence, travel routes, countries transited and travel documentation.

5.Where the competent authorities decide to retain any document necessary for the purpose of return as referred to in paragraph 3, point (c), they shall ensure that the third-country national receives without undue delay photocopies or other appropriate proof of retention of the documents. In the case of voluntary return, the competent authorities shall either hand back such documents to the third-country national at the time of departure or upon arrival in the third country.

6.The third-country national shall be contactable by means of communication as defined in national law. Member States shall establish in national law the method of communication and the point in time at which the communication is considered received by and notified to the third-country national or make use of digital systems developed and/or supported by the Member States or the Union for the purpose of such communication.